Birmingham jeweler gets prison in wire fraud scheme

Crime is not just the the domain of the inner city as the daily pounding by the if-it-bleeds-it-leads TV news might lead some to believe. It only differs by the scale of the crime. This time it includes a famous Detroit name, although I don't see where it implicates the famous Auction house of the same name.

I can kind of see where there might be a reason for crime in impoverished areas, but crimes at this level of prosperity boggle the mind.

A Birmingham jeweler was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison Thursday after pleading guilty to participating in a $12 million wire fraud scheme.

Joseph DuMouchelle, 61, of Birmingham, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in Detroit. DuMouchelle was the owner of “Joseph Dumouchelle Fine and Estate Jewelry Buyers, Sellers, Appraisers, and Auctioneers.”

According to a news release, DuMouchelle began his scheme in late 2018 when he presented the purchase and sale of a diamond called “Yellow Rose” to a client. The client was asked to wire transfer $12 million to the “seller's account,” which was in fact DuMouchelle's own account. After receiving the transfer, DuMouchelle withdrew the funds and used them to pay personal and business debts and expenses.

This was not the first time DuMouchelle conducted this fraud scheme.

According to the release, DuMouchelle defrauded a total of about $25.3 million from various victims.

“Victims were lulled into believing Du-Mouchelle's false promises because he held himself out to be an expert with valuable connections that would provide them substantial profits,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in the release.

DuMouchelle has more than 30 years of experience specializing in the appraisal and sale of fine gems and jewelry, and his auction house has handled the Nat King Cole collection and Maples-Trump engagement in the past.

https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...50600e_134855d

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Originally Posted by Lowell

... I don't see where it implicates the famous Auction house of the same name.

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Often our local papers practice the silence of the lambs with regard to the names of prominent families. But who knows? He may have been born Gomer Goober Gump to a ten-year old Ohio girl?

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Originally Posted by Lowell

Crime is not just the the domain of the inner city as the daily pounding by the if-it-bleeds-it-leads TV news might lead some to believe. It only differs by the scale of the crime.

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... and the lethality.

Some [likely] billionaire somewhere in the world loosing $12 million for a diamond they didn't need is much less important to Detroiter's than one of us getting murdered in front our family over $5 or a pair of shoes.

That's why embezzlement is treated differently than violent armed robbery and random killings. Daddy still gets to come home at night. In fact, with embezzlement, the victim often doesn't even know they're a victim for weeks or months.

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Originally Posted by Rocket

... and the lethality.

Some [likely] billionaire somewhere in the world loosing $12 million for a diamond they didn't need is much less important to Detroiter's than one of us getting murdered in front our family over $5 or a pair of shoes.

That's why embezzlement is treated differently than violent armed robbery and random killings. Daddy still gets to come home at night. In fact, with embezzlement, the victim often doesn't even know they're a victim for weeks or months.

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Or years in the case of Bernie Madoff.

He could always become a preacher when he gets out. More lucrative and no taxes.

He'll never make it in prison, this guys never worked a day in his life. 12 years for him is a death sentence.

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Originally Posted by CassTechGrad

He'll never make it in prison, this guys never worked a day in his life. 12 years for him is a death sentence.

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He's too purdy for prison... he better bring soap on a rope... :eek:

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Originally Posted by Gistok

He's too purdy for prison... he better bring soap on a rope... :eek:

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Depends on how much cash he had left over for forfeiture,some pretty nice federal “prisons” out there where the only difference between inside and outside is a chain link fence.

There is a big distinction between levels of crime,voilent crime is looked at different then white collar,and taking something by force is different then scamming somebody.

The guy that actually put the cocaine cowboys in business was busted paid millions to the government,lots of them,he received federal time per agreement to be placed in a hotel of sorts prison where he was able to bribe to warden so he could have an apartment outside of the grounds.

There are others that are serving life because they were to cheap to come off of millions,or refused to,even though it would have been chump change,they are not in particularly nice accommodations.

Greed,in this case even with $12 million you can live like royalty for the rest of your life in a lot of countries with no extradition,sooner or later you are going to get busted if they keep on.

Massive difference in federal verses state prison,federal prisons people are placed by category of crime verses state where everybody is placed in general population regardless of crime,where dropping the soap would be an issue.

Society in federal prison is not much different then society in the real world,unless you are somebody high profile like El Chapo who is spending 23 hours a day in a cell.

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Originally Posted by Richard

... federal prison is not much different then society in the real world,

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Agreed, he'll be locked-up in the company of 'haves' like Maralago Mussolini, Steve Bannon, Generalissimo Flynn, etc., not with hoi-polloi.